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Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Building da Vinci Exhibit at Arlington Heights Memorial Library Through November 13

We had such a busy month that we nearly missed exploring the Building da Vinci Exhibit at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library. Thank goodness a day off of school today gave us the chance to take a peek! While not huge, it is certainly an intriguing aside in the center of the library. I have been truly enjoying all of the special exhibits that AHML has been bringing to Arlington Heights and this is no exception.

Catapult built by local engineers based on Leonardo Da Vinci's design.

The exhibit gives visitors a look at da Vinci's invention created from his sketches by local artists and engineers. Of course, we immediately noticed the catapult. My first thought was "Don't catapults predate da Vinci?" While they do, he actually sketched improvements to the catapult to make it more effective. The catapult took about 160 hours to make and can shoot nearly 30 feet.

Da Vinci also tinkered with clocks and incorporated springs to operate them.

Da Vinci's Aerial Screw design is a predecessor to the helicopter.

One of my favorites is the Aerial Screw which is an early predecessor to the helicopter. I really love the design. Leonardo was entirely intrigued by the thought of human flight. He drew inspiration from bats, birds and kites. Some of his other flight inventions include the Magical Dragonfly and the Ornithopter.

The Magical Dragonfly looks like a dragonfly doesn't it?

Inspiration from birds and bats can be seen in the Ornithopter.

If your kids are interested in flight or invention, swing by the Arlington Heights Memorial Library if you get a chance. The exhibit is open until November 13.